The MacIains’ Church
St Comghan’s church is the church in which the MacIains would have worshipped throughout the three hundred years during which Ardnamurchan was their homeland. Today it is a ruin standing on a low hill...
Monthly Archive: April 2014
Saving Mingary Castle
The castle which is so closely associated with Clan MacIain was described in 2013 by an eminent archaeologist as “The most intact thirteenth century castle in Scotland”. Yet Mingary’s present importance to Scottish archaeology and...
Ardnamurchan’s Last MacIains
It would be good to be able to trace the fate of those MacIains who may have stayed on Ardnamurchan after the Campbells finally took full possession of the peninsula, but this is difficult....
The Last Years of Clan MacIain
The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, from AD 1493 to AD 1625, by Donald Gregory, was published in 1881. Its pages contain a detailed history of the last years of...
How Did the Ordinary MacIains Live?
Such evidence as we have for the day-to-day life of the ordinary member of Clan MacIain comes from the archaeological remains that we find all over Ardnamurchan and from a few other sources, such...
Early Roots of Clan MacIain
1. GILLEBRIDE King of the Sudereys: Iain Sprangach MacDonald, founder of Clan MacIain, was descended on his father’s side from Gilbert (Gillebride or Gillebhride) Mac Gille Adomnan, known as ‘na h-Uamh’ from the fact...
The MacIain Grave-slabs
Above the village of Kilchoan stands the ruins of St Comghan’s Church, once the parish church of Ardnamurchan. While there would have been an earlier building on the site, this structure was probably built...
Ardnamurchan’s People Today
The 230 square kilometres of Ardnamurchan today supports a year-round resident population of about 300, almost all of whom live in small, scattered villages. The largest of these is Kilchoan, with a population of...
Where is Ardnamurchan?
Ardnamurchan is a peninsula which protrudes into the Atlantic Ocean, with the isles of Skye, Rum, Eigg and Muck to the north and Mull to the south. The Point of Ardnamurchan is the most...
